Welcome to my own review thread, which promises to kick much ass. My review thread will be better
than the other review threads on this site, simply because the games are being reviewed by me.

There are some rules to my reviews that you should keep in mind at all times:1 - These reviews are fact, not opinion. If you disagree with any of the reviews here, then you are not a true gamer.2 - I am a Sega fanboy, therefore Sega gets preferential treatment. If you see a Sega game that is NOT getting preferential treatment, please notify me and the situation will be rectified as soon as possible.4 - All reviews are final. If you don't like them, I recommend suicide (for you, not me).5 - Usually all game screens are captured by me actually playing the game on the real system itself. Sometimes emulators will be required (and usually provide the best results), but rest assured they are screens of me playing the game myself, with the exception of the Space Harrier 32X and Out Run 2 reviews. I don't just grab screens from the 'net.

When I bought this box, I naturally assumed that a
32X version of Space Harrier would be inside. I was right!

Back in the day when Space Harrier arrived for the Sega 32X at my local WaldenSoftware store, I was MAJORLY excited. Never before had I played a version that was so close to the arcade. I didn't care what the game cost, I handed over a large sum of cash, accepted the change and headed for home. I still don't remember what the total was. Oh well. I played the game and was in gaming heaven. This made the purchase of the 32X completely worthwhile for me... until the Saturn Sega Ages version came out anyway.

Story: 3/10
The story is about a dude who flies through the air to save the land of dragons. There has never been a better story written in the history of all mankind. OK yes, it is lame. But who cares?

Graphics: 8/10
The graphics are very colorful, exactly like the arcade except for a very slight loss of resolution due to the mandatory use of the composite video cable. I know of no one who plays their 32X in RGB or S-Video. The screen area is also slightly smaller than the arcade and Saturn versions and is letterboxed, but this does not detract from gameplay. The scaling is all there and I have not seen much, if any flicker. Lots of stuff on the screen and the inhabitants of this world are very well drawn. The Genesis is responsible for ONLY the backgrounds (multiple scrolling layers of mountains, etc. but NOT the smooth colors behind these layers), the ranking score text, the start/option text, and the option screen text. The 32X itself handles the rest of the graphics. This can be proved by wiring the Genesis directly to the TV via the composite cable instead of routing the video through the 32X first. Usually the 32X is barely used at all in most games.

Yes, the game is letterboxed. It helps the 32X
run the game a bit smoother, but still not 100% perfect.

Sound: 10/10
100% exactly like the arcade. All of the voices from the arcade are here. Normally people like to pick on the sound capabilities of the Genesis, but with the right amount of memory it can sound very good. All of the voices sound real, not like scratchy digitizations the Genesis is known for. I don't know if the 32X had a part in this or if it is the Genesis doing all of the work, but it sounds great! Of course, the voice used in Space Harrier II sounded completely real as well, and that was only a 4 Meg Genesis cart (this version is 24 Megs). The music is some of my favorite ever used in a game, but that's because it was some of the first videogame music I was ever exposed to. It basically has one long track with various sections. As the stages advance, the track begins from a different segment. There are a few different boss tunes as well as a bonus stage tune that is catchy.

Gameplay: 8/10
Fly around and shoot stuff! There is very little strategy required... all arcade skill! Not everything can be destroyed, however. And some things can only be injured when they open up or are in a certain position. When fighting the bosses, some of them will fly away if you don't beat them fast enough. But most of the bosses are especially designed for each stage, and they will stick around until you beat them. Unfortunately there is some slowdown that occurs quite often when the screen fills up. I had to deduct some points for this. The Saturn version eliminated this slowdown. Overall it is a fun game and I play it again and again, and I'm sure I will for years to come.

Wrap up:
Space Harrier for the 32X is a hit! If you have a 32X I highly recommend it. The Saturn version is slightly better, but you can't go wrong here. You don't get to play as a spaceship like in the Master System version, nor is there a final boss and extra music like the Master System version, but it still is a great arcade game!

When I learned that Out Run 2 was a new game in the arcade, my first thought was "What the hellz? Arcades still exist? NO WAY!" Then I learned that Sega had built the game on Xbox technology, their Chichiro board (or something just as stupidly named) which is basically an Xbox with twice as much RAM and no DVD Drive. Then I saw the game screens. My thought after all of this was "Oh man dat's mad tight yo! I can'tz wait for da perfect Xbox version!" But there was no word from Sega on a home port of the game. Then it was announced that Out Run 2 would be ported exclusively to the PS2. That whole week I was on the toilet with constant explosive diarrhea. Sega finally came around and said "Hey man we were just f*ckin' with ya. Out Run 2 would look like ass on the PS2. It's coming to the Xbox fully intact, we've got our best sumo's on the project!". My diarrhea suddenly went away and I was all better. Fortunately the game arrived on the Xbox pixel perfect. Mostly.

Story: 37/10
The story in Out Run 2 is beyond belief. It makes crappy games like Final Fantasy 7 and Chrono Trigger pale by comparison. Those two games were written by Japanese nerds fresh out of high school. But the story of Out Run 2 was collaborated upon by the likes of Dean Koontz, Stephen King, Michael Crichton, Tom Clancy, Mark Twain, Charlie Kaufman, Yu Suzuki, and Agatha Christie. It simply does not get better than this. You will be immensed at every moment by the drama, suspense, thrills, and romance. The interpersonal lives of the game characters is an amazing tale to behold indeed.

Graphics: 9/10
If you are a graphics whore, and don't even try to tell me that you are not, then you will be very pleased with Out Run 2. The draw distance is amazing. It doesn't look real but it looks awesome. It's like a great painting that runs at 60fps most of the time. There are a couple of spots where the framerate drops briefly, but it's not too bad. The game isn't quite pixel-perfect to the arcade. "OMG! What are the differences?" you ask. I guess I'll answer that since you asked somewhat nicely. Keep that in mind the next time you ask me a question as well. Well the home game is capable of running in 16:9 widescreen, which lets you see more of the race area. The arcade does not run in this mode. So in effect, the home version's graphics are better if you have a 16:9 TV. This game also supports 480p. The slowdown I talked about earlier may be the result of running in widescreen, as I have noticed that games like Ninja Gaiden don't update the screen as smoothly when in widescreen mode, being that it has more to process. But I am too lazy to play Out Run 2 in 4:3 mode just to find out. Bottom line: graphics are very, very good. Much better than those of Burnout 3.

Out Run 2 has awesome graphics.
Check out the awesome drawing distances.

Sound: 7/10
This game has some really good music, and that can't be denied. But it also has some really BAD music. Tunes from the original Out Run were arranged years and years ago and were released on a CD. Sega has taken these exact tunes, changed them a wee bit (but not much) and included them in Out Run 2. There are also 2 new instrumental guitar-themed tunes that are pretty good as well. Then there are the 2 "songs". Listening to these will make you shoot yourself, rise from the grave and shoot yourself again just to be sure. They're that bad. Instrumental versions of these 2 "songs" can be unlocked in the Mission Mode. You can also unlock versions of the original tunes redone by Sega Europe musician Richard Jacques (no relation to Jacque Cousteau). Richy was responsible for the music in Sonic R, Sonic 3D Blast, Jet Set Radio (Present and Future) among others. But these "Euro Remixes" don't amount to too much in the way of new and different, but they are a nice change of pace. You can also unlock the original 1986 arcade chiptunes.

Gameplay: 8/10
I hate rating gameplay because it's the part of the game that nobody cares about. Oh well, I guess I should do it. The game is great fun, and most of the time you are racing aganst the clock. You don't drive around in circles forever (eg: lap races), but instead you need to make it to the checkpoint before your time runs out. That kicks ass. Most people downplay Out Run 2 because you can't tweak the differentials, shocks, or whatnot. Also you don't drive around in circles or do "takedowns". Out Run 2 has no desire to be Gran Turdismo or Burnout. It is a pure arcade racer. And that's why it shines. I am sick of games that take themselves so damn seriously. Out Run 2 also has an insane Mission Mode where you can unlock stuff like cards. Everyone love cards. It's usually either exceedingly easy or frustratingly hard. The Maximum Speed contests are the missions that hate me and my life the most. This is way tougher than anything in Burnout 3.

Included in Out Run 2 are a few tracks from 2 Sega arcade games that nobody knows about, Daytona 2 and Super GT (aka SCUD the Disposable Assassin). The tracks must be unlocked in the Mission Mode or via a password. It is definitely cool that these tracks are in the game, but they are certainly not meant to exist in Out Run 2's world. Since Out Run 2 controls like Sega Rally, which controls differently than Daytona or that other game, these end up not being very good tracks to race on. The graphics of the bonus tracks are about 59% of the quality of the regular Out Run 2 tracks. They almost look cartoonish and lack much detail. Unfortunately they did not include the music from the original game's tracks. Racing these tracks it's easy to see why Daytona 2 and that other game (whatever it's called) barely even made arcade appearances (I think only like 10 arcades in all the world got both games... combined) and also easy to see why they never showed up on a home console. Here's a hint: the tracks are rather... well... mundane. Neat to see additional tracks in the game though.

You can unlock the arcade version of the original Out Run
by beating all 5 tracks in the Arcade Mode. Controlling this game with the
Xbox controller really sucks big time. Stick with the Saturn version.

Online:
Yes, this game is Live compatible, if anyone cares (I really don't). Up to 8 racers can race each other, and the rooms have been full each time I've tried. It works pretty well, but the framerate takes a hit quite often (and quite noticably) in the online mode.

Wrap Up:
Out Run 2 for your Xbox is a must have, especially at 40 bucks. I would have liked to see an arranged version of the musical track that was exclusive to the Genesis version included, but no such luck. Regardless, it is a phenomenal game. I hope that the 15 new tracks of the Out Run SP arcade game is offered as a download. This game does support downloadable content, so I am getting my hopes up!

Of course Space Harrier deserves a high rating; that goes without saying. You said that there are some rules to your thread, and then posted #s 1, 2 and 4. What's rule #3?

P.S. Your writing skills strike me as being sort of like Maddox's. Though his style is pretty easy to mimic, are you intentionally trying to sound that way? It's hard to argue otherwise with quotes such as this ~ "All reviews are final. If you don't like them, I recommend suicide (for you, not me)."

P.P.S. About freakin' time Joe! (These reviews sound a helluva lot different than your Annette Again review.)

There has been more than one person who thought I was actually Maddox. I have had a similar sense of humor since high school (before Maddox was even accidentally conceived) and have written/talked that way since. But he gets all of the credit. Someday the world will be mine. If not, I'd settle for a piece of pie.

The packaging isn't too shabby. The manual is even in color.
That guy wants your body. Bad.

This was a discount title released for the Sega Dreamcast here in the US. It was priced at $20 brand new right when it came out, so I figured I couldn't do too wrong, since I at least marginally enjoyed past King of Fighters games on the Sega Saturn.

You can select the order of your characters before each match.
That's about as much depth as this game offers.

Story: 1/10
Once again invitations have been delivered to the fighters throughout the world. But this time, something seems a bit peculiar... blah blah blah... who cares?

This game has a feature called "Graphics" which enables you
to see what you are doing when playing the game.
A television is required to utilize this feature.

Graphics: 3/10
The graphics in the King of Fighters series of games have never been thought of as "great" or "cutting edge", even back when they were brand new on the Neo Geo. The graphics here are all Neo Geo quality with the exception of 3D backgrounds which were added for the Dreamcast. It seems that SNK/Agetec went out of their way to turn OFF the anti-aliasing feature built into the Dreamcast, because the jaggies are here big time. But the low resulution doesn't help, either. That's right, this game runs in 240p on your NTSC or PAL TV. If you play it on an HDTV, it converts the 240p to 480i, which makes the game look even WORSE (re: blocky)! The game does not support the VGA box (no 240p games do). So playing the game on a regular TV will give you the best results, and it does utilize progressive scan on any TV (except HDTVs). The 3D backgrounds are somewhat interesting and do add a little flavor. The sprites look the same as they do in almost every other King of Fighters game. Mai "bounces", but it is a bit unrealistic. She is still hot for a video game sprite, though. But overall the graphics are pretty ugly. But it's KoF, what did you expect? The display can be moved around in the option screen, and you can position the score and the striker bar as far up or down on the screen as you like. A nice feature indeed.

You can call in your striker to help out in an obvious
attempt to rip off some of the VS Capcom fighters.

Sound: 7/10
Typical arranged "CD-quality" King of Fighters fare here. Some of the music is really good. Some of it is pretty bad. But mostly it is "just there", so to speak. The voices are all present and sound fairly clear, as do the hits and special movies, etc. The game is featured in stereo. There's not too much else to be said about the sound or the music.

The screen can get crowded when both characters have their strikers on the screen.
This is the most exciting moment that has ever happened to me in this game.

Gameplay: 6/10
I've always preferred the Capcom series of fighters over any of the SNK fighters. King of Fighters has fewer attack buttons, stiffer control, and less-than-exciting gameplay. This game brings all that with it. But this game lets you select up to 4 chaaracters, each fighting one round (or more if they win). The fourth character is used as the "Striker", the person who comes in when you call them and sometimes they will help fight for a brief amount of time. Kind of neat, I suppose. Plugging in a Sega Saturn controller makes the gameplay so much better. Buttons X, Y, A, & B are used for punches and kicks. Button C is used to taunt (why? this is a stupid feature in almost all fighting games) and Z is used to call in your striker to help you. There are a few different gameplay modes, but there really isn't a whole heck of a lot of variety here. Oh well. I am getting bored writing about this game now so I will try to stop.

The winning character comes on after each match and says something nonsensical.
It's almost as if the developers of the game actually believed that gamers would care.

If you record the game onto a videotape and play it back,
you can fast forward through the boring parts like shown here.
It helps when you are trying to do screen captures for a review.

Wrap up:
Not too bad for a $20 game back in the day. But still, don't get your hopes too high, as this game will spend most of it's time sitting on the shelf rather than being played.

I should buy a GB Player and play my KOF 95 on it with the Hori pad...

review Contra:Hard Corps :cool guy:

KoF 95's comin out on the PS2 next year, Jap sadly.

5/10? Well, if that's what you think of it its' fine by me .
OK, so some of the victory quotes suck, I agree with that! Really SNK should get someone with good english (not japanese) to do their dialouge!

I can review Contra Hard Corpse, but it'll be awhile as I'll need to borrow it from Vic Viper, and he has it stored away since he is currently buying a new house. I can't review SvC Chaos because I don't have it, but come January I might rent it and review it.

I also want to review some lesser known titles that people overlook, like Granada and Thunder Force II for the Genesis. I also want to do imports, like King of Fighters '96 for the Sega Saturn and the like.